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The NFL gambling policy is back in the spotlight after the league announced Friday it has suspended five players for violations related to sports betting.
Lions players Jameson Williams, Stanley Berryhill, Quintez Cephus and C.J. Moore, along with Shaka Toney of the Commanders, have all received suspensions for violations of the policy, with Williams and Berryhill being suspended for six games each and the remainder of the players facing indefinite bans.
This is the second time in as many years high-profile players have been suspended for violations of the league’s gambling policy. Then-Falcons receiver Calvin Ridley missed the entirety of the 2022 NFL season after it was found he had placed bets on the Falcons while he was injured during the 2021 season.
As online sports betting has become more prevalent — the league has deals with three separate sportsbooks that could be worth more than $1 billion to the NFL over five years — the limitations on what players and other league or team personnel are allowed to do have become more important.
MORE: Why Jameson Williams, 4 others were suspended for violating NFL’s gambling rules
In this case, what stands out is the suspension lengths. Williams and Berryhill will be out for only six games, while the other players — and Ridley from a season ago — were hit with indefinite suspensions.
Why is there a different suspension length for different players? Here’s what you need to know.
What rule did Jameson Williams break?
The biggest concern for the NFL in gambling is betting on league games, particularly among players or coaches. Players betting on the NFL could have insider information about a game, and it runs the risk of compromising the integrity of the game.
But while betting on NFL games is the major priority, the league also has rules in place about betting on other sports. According to the league’s gambling policy, personnel are forbidden from placing bets inside any team or league setting.
NFL Personnel shall not engage in any form of gambling while in any Club or League setting including, without limitation, locker rooms, practice or office facilities, team buses, trains, flights, or hotels, or while traveling on Club or League business. For clarity, playing cards or other casino-type games is permitted as long as nothing of value is wagered.
ESPN reported that Williams and Berryhill were suspended for mobile betting at the team’s practice facility, and that neither bet on NFL games. Williams’ representation confirmed in a statement that the second-year wide receiver’s bet would have been otherwise legal had it not taken place within Detroit’s facility.
The league does prohibit NFL personnel who are not players from betting on other professional, college, international or Olympic sports events. But since Williams and Berryhill are active players, they are allowed to place bets on non-NFL events so long as they are not placing those bets within league facilities.
As noted in the gambling policy, all violations are handled on a case-by-case basis. There is no set number of games that apply to particular violations more than another. And given that neither Williams nor Berryhill bet on NFL games, it would appear the league is more willing to dole out a lighter punishment.
In the NFL’s announcement of the suspensions, it noted Williams and Berryhill can participate in offseason and preseason activities, including preseason games. Their suspensions will not begin until the roster is reduced to 53 players.
MORE: Jameson Williams joins Calvin Ridley, others on list of NFL players suspended for gambling
What rule did Shaka Toney, Quintez Cephus and C.J. Moore break?
Toney, Cephus and Moore were found to have bet on NFL games in the 2022 season. Because their violations were for betting on league games, the punishment faced is more severe.
The release noted that the players will miss at least the entire 2023 season, and can apply for reinstatement after the season.
The league’s policy makes it clear that no one affiliated with the NFL or any of its teams can place bets on any event involving the league:
All NFL Personnel are prohibited from placing, soliciting, or facilitating any bet, whether directly or indirectly through a third-party, on any NFL game, practice or other event. This includes betting on game outcome, statistics, score, performance of any individual participant, or any other kind of “proposition bet” on which wagering is offered.
This was the same policy Ridley was found to have been in violation of when he was suspended for the 2022 season.
The Lions announced they will release Cephus and Moore. A Commanders statement did not address Toney’s status with the team, saying only that the franchise is “aware” of the suspension and cooperated with the league’s investigation.